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Loan delinquencies could have an impact on whole economy. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23879390/)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/BMW_525i.JPGRoland Jones - MSNBC - April 2, 2008

2006 BMW 525i - 18/27 mpgUS on even more expensive Premium fuel per the 08 EPA.

When a 525i driver sees the cost of fuel and out of pocket ownership costs at the end of each month, is it any wonder why some are seeing the light? In his case, none to soon too ;) -- Ed.

Driving a sporty car was nice, but with high gas prices and inflation pinching at his pocketbook, Jorge Valdes decided last October to get rid of his white BMW 525i sedan when the $700-a-month lease payments became too much to bear.

Valdes turned to LeaseTrader.com, an online service that allows one car-lease owner to transfer it to another before it expires. He passed on the remaining 16 months of his 36-month lease to another driver, allowing him to lease a new, cheaper car and lower his monthly car payments.

“With gas and insurance I was paying over $1,000 a month to drive a vehicle and it didn’t make any sense,” said the 27-year-old firefighter who lives in Miami.

“The economy was one of my main reasons for getting rid of the lease,” he continued. “Gas prices are going through the roof and the economy isn’t getting any better; everyone hopes it will, but I don’t see it getting any better any time soon. There’s nothing out there that’s going to pick us up.” … http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23879390/

anyone left in america that lives within their means? $1000/mo....that buys you a condo around here.

If your business is relying on overextending people, prepare to go bankrupt in 2008 america

Peak Oil does not go well with Peak Housing, Peak War, Peak Deficits, and now............Peak Credit. ;)

Peak Oil does not go well with Peak Housing, Peak War, Peak Deficits, and now............Peak Credit. ;)


PO probably
PH depends on
PW which will not peak until PO is accepted reality meaning
PD and PC will be reality.

Well, the way I see it out here in the corn field, the meteoric rise of gasoline is directly responsible for most all the problems we are facing as a country. You just cannot raise the cost of something as crucial, as critical as gasoline, and expect anything different. Because gasoline is absolutely necessary to most of us, and because most all drive low MPG vehicles, the amount we feel the impact is directly linked to how much money we take home. For a family with a combined income of $35,000.00 and a mortgage, and a new car loan for a 13 MPG car, it is hopeless. Inflation will wipe that family out. But if the same family grows some of their own food, has no mortgage or auto loan, and spends very little on gasoline, they will fare much better.

During times of hyperinflation, it seems like it is not how much you make that matters as much as how much you have to spend.

Bob.

gasoline's main use is light transport. It being high does nothing to us except crimp personal transport usage/affordability....sick of people blaming "gasoline price hikes" for our problems.

Crude oil, diesel, natural gas increases affect us all a lot more than gasoline increases. We could coutrol gasoline use with high taxes etc...taxing these is useless, it supplies us with food, clothing, eveything etc.

In your example, if someone makes 35k as a family of 4, what kind of car are they driving that gets 13mpg? I can name a couple, Large pickups, Suvs, H2, or...old clunkers dating back to the the 70s or large sedans like the caprice of the 80s...which should still be around 17mpg as my brother owned a 1986 model in the late 90s that got 15/19. So either they have a POS from the 70s thats paid off or a car that is more expensive than a years gross salary. something doesnt add up (you indicate new in your example, so it must be a very expensive truck, suv...or a bmw 7 series at 12/17mpg.....sincerely.....confused guy right here).

Jorge Valdes decided last October to get rid of his white BMW 525i sedan when the $700-a-month lease payments became too much to bear.

Poor baby.

So the guy leases a car he can't afford to buy, to show off, and then wants sympathy when he figures out leasing a car like that makes no sense?

My '99 Civic in my driveway won't impress too many people, but it's been many years since I've had to make a payment on it.

Oh, and why not consider gas mileage when choosing a vehicle to drive? What an outrageous idea that is.

Harry

Jorge Valdes decided last October to get rid of his white BMW 525i sedan when the $700-a-month lease payments became too much to bear.

Poor baby.

So the guy leases a car he can't afford to buy, to show off, and then wants sympathy when he figures out leasing a car like that makes no sense?

My '99 Civic in my driveway won't impress too many people, but it's been many years since I've had to make a payment on it.

Oh, and why not consider gas mileage when choosing a vehicle to drive? What an outrageous idea that is.

Harry

Im surprised he didnt got with the 725i, its only another $300 a month....pretty low when you are already paying a grand....idiot. :D

gasoline's main use is light transport. It being high does nothing to us except crimp personal transport usage/affordability....sick of people blaming "gasoline price hikes" for our problems.

Crude oil, diesel, natural gas increases affect us all a lot more than gasoline increases. We could control gasoline use with high taxes etc...taxing these is useless, it supplies us with food, clothing, everything etc.

In your example, if someone makes 35k as a family of 4, what kind of car are they driving that gets 13mpg? I can name a couple, Large pickups, Suvs, H2, or...old clunkers dating back to the the 70s or large sedans like the caprice of the 80s...which should still be around 17mpg as my brother owned a 1986 model in the late 90s that got 15/19. So either they have a POS from the 70s that's paid off or a car that is more expensive than a years gross salary. something doesn't add up (you indicate new in your example, so it must be a very expensive truck, suv...or a BMW 7 series at 12/17mpg.....sincerely.....confused guy right here).

Agreed, toastblows, I was generalizing to make a point. Let me see if I can be more specific.

1. I generalized when I used gasoline as the culprit. As you pointed out, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, butane, propane, plastics, etc all come from, or is mined along with crude oil. For years we have come to expect this commodity (crude oil & natural gas) to be relatively cheap. And it has been. But, in the last few years things have changed. That which we have come to rely on as "relatively cheap" is no longer that. The result has been "hyperinflation".

2. As you said, gasoline prices going up is not our problem. Our problem is the hyperinflation that results from a commodity as pivotal as crude oil and natural gas accelerating in cost so rapidly. Most all of us have relatively fixed salaries. For years the company I worked for gave us a 2, 3, or, if we were really lucky, a 5 % "cost of living" salary increase and a "performance" raise on top of that. I work for a large company (over 400 employees). No one here has seen either a performance or cost of living increase for four years.

3. But even if every company in the U.S. gave its employees a 10% increase every year, how would that stack up to the kind cost of living increases we have been experiencing? What I am reading from very reliable economists (John Williams' "Shadow Government Statistics") is that in the last 12 months we have suffered an "at least" a 25 % cost of living increase, and probably closer to 33%!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never seen such increases, never.

4. And so, steadily increasing gasoline prices is only a part of the real problem. The real problem as I see it is hyperinflation, precipitated by the cost of crude oil and natural gas, but predominantly, crude oil. Americans are being squeezed between relatively fixed incomes and a cost of living increase never before experienced.

And so I come to what I see as my alternatives in protecting my/our standard of living and way of life in these stressful times.

1. Don't wait for the government to help you or for the system to change. You will go broke waiting.

2. Recognize where the threat is coming from and change your life style so you need less of that which is threatening your standard of living. Predominantly, I see that threat as our hopeless dependency on crude oil because we have been brainwashed into believing that it will remain "relatively cheap". It will not, trust me on that!

That is why I and my wife actively hypermile with the cars we now have. It has helped our family greatly; we had been spending a lot less money on gasoline. That is why I will be buying a PHEV as soon as it is possible. It will further insulate my family from the one thing that is destroying my family budget more that anything else, the cost of gasoline. It just went up here another .06/gal. here. That is why I will be looking into solar panels and selling electricity to the grid soon.

My view out here in the corn field is that in this recession, protecting your family from "out of control" energy increases will be the key to success!

Clear as mud, eh? Have a nice weekend, toastblows.:flag:

Bob.